Welcome to SAOVA

As animals cannot speak for themselves it is up to us as intelligent caring human beings to speak up on their behalf against the cruelty and exploitation they are too often subjected to.

As animal rights activists we want to end the unfair treatment of animals as a result of sports betting. Horse racing and greyhound racing, while legal still do not have strict enough rules in place to prevent abuse of the animals involved. Illegal dog fights, cock fights and other betting events involving animals often result in death or serious maiming of the animals. This has to stop!

Horse racing has been coming under fire for many years and yet is still a highly popular pastime for many owners and enthusiasts, with still many more gamblers placing bets. The thrill of winning makes it extremely difficult for animal activists to gain the attention of betters in the hope of educating them about the cruelty associated with horse racing and greyhound racing.

In both horse and greyhound racing the animals are treated as if they are nothing more than commodities and not as living beings. The job of the animal is to win its owner awards and money, sometimes at any cost. There is very little humanity involved in the world of horse and greyhound racing. In greyhound racing in particular dogs are caged most of the time and aside from training and racing are confined.

Large numbers of dogs are dying before they even get to the point of racing on a track. Horses injured to the point that they can no longer race are typically ‘put down’ because they are no longer of any use to the owner, or sold to slaughterhouses. Even top class winning racehorses run the risk of ending up as a key ingredient in dog food once their stud days are over.

Horses are pushed beyond their limits of endurance, often being pumped full of dangerous drugs before lining up on the track. Despite the use of drugs being illegal in horse racing it still goes on. Laws against such treatment are not strictly enforced and many animals are dropping dead as a result.

The cruelty doesn’t stop at horse and greyhound racing however. Thousands of dogs are critically maimed and even killed in the name of sport in illegal dog fights. Dogs are often stolen from loving families and taught to become savage so that they will fight for their lives when put in the dog fighting ring. Any dog that is injured beyond being able to fight again is killed and tossed aside.

Pigeon racing costs thousands of pigeons their lives every year. One particularly cruel tactic of pigeon racers is to take the pigeons from their eggs and force them to fly home to get back to their nests. Any pigeon that doesn’t perform as desired is killed.

Gambling / betting in the name of sport must be stopped. Gamblers must be made aware of the cruel lengths animal owners will go to in order to win. Gamblers must be made aware that every time they attend a racing event they are contributing to the cruelty these animals are subjected to. As long as betting is allowed to continue these animals will continue to be treated abysmally in the name of sport.

Stricter regulations need to be put in place to stop the breeding of dogs expressly for dog fighting. The general public needs to be made aware of the risks of advertising their dogs for re-homing in local newspapers, which is one of the main sources for fighting dog owners to get new stock. Puppy mills need to be stopped and those caught breeding for dog fighting need to face harsher penalties.

Our aim is to prevent the ongoing cruel treatment of animals as a result of gambling/betting on animals. By bringing the truth out into the open we aim to educate the general public in our arguments against animal betting. The more people we can get interested in doing their part to prevent the further abuse of animals in the name of sport the better chance we have of saving these precious animals from a life of misery and death.

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What is SAOVA?

The Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance (SAOVA) is a nationwide, nonpartisan group of volunteers seeking to elect politicians who will oppose the "Animal Rightist" (AR) threat to our rights as Americans. SAOVA's members hunt, fish and own livestock, dogs, cats and other pets. We study political candidates in all states to identify those who understand and resist the AR threat as well as those who are in the pocket of the Animal Rightists.